Issues

Electoral Integrity

The legitimacy of an election and public confidence in the resulting structures of democratic governance largely depend on the actual and perceived integrity of the electoral process. If citizens and candidates believe an election was unfair or poorly-administered, they may not accept the outcome. To support credible elections, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) works with election management bodies around the world on all aspects of election administration and across all phases of the electoral cycle, including long-term institutional capacity building. In addition, IFES has developed an electoral integrity portfolio focused on three principle areas – election dispute resolution, fraud and malpractice mitigation, and political finance regulation – that builds on international standards and more than 25 years of experience strengthening the effectiveness of election management around the globe. IFES programs work to: support effective and fair investigation and arbitration processes and ensure the compliance of electoral justice systems with international public law; promote the use of rigorous electoral integrity assessments and planning to deter and mitigate election fraud and malpractice; and bolster enforcement of political finance regulations to enhance transparency and deter non-compliance, corruption, and the abuse of state resources.